Positron emission tomography (PET) scanners measure annihilation events. An annihilation event occurs when a positron emitted from a radionuclide encounters an electron and the positron and electron are converted into two photons. An image can be created based on data indicating the number of annihilation events at each location in a scanner's field of view. A PET scanner detects the annihilation events using a scintillator and light sensor. Data from a group or “bank” of PET detectors is generally aggregated into a single data path with each detector occupying a specific “slot” for efficient transmission to a coincidence processor. Within an individual bank, data can be daisy chained, or connected in series, from slot to slot, until the last slot is reached. Data that has reached the last slot or was generated in the last slot is then transmitted to the coincidence processor for further processing. Event losses occur in a daisy-chained scheme if one or more slots contain an event during the same sync period. Only one event can be transmitted along the daisy chain in a single sync period, which requires any additional events to be discarded. These types of event losses are especially prevalent at higher count rates as more events occur per sync period, which increases the probability of events being discarded.
A need exists, therefore, for an event data transmission scheme for reducing PET event losses, employing a more effective use of available data bandwidth.